Product characteristics

Powerfoil ® are flexible and light weight thin film silicon based photovoltaic modules.Powerfoil ® are flexible and light weight thin film silicon based photovoltaic modules. The modules have the unique properties:

The two products only differ in price and efficiency. The application possibilities are the same

Product details

The device consists of two stacked active silicon layers: an amorphous silicon layer absorbs mainly the blue part of the solar irradiation and a microcrystalline silicon layer absorbs mainly the red light of the solar spectrum. The created photocurrent passed on to a transparent conduction layer on the top side, fluorine doped tin-oxide and to a metallic back contact made of aluminum on the bottom side. This aluminum layer, in combination with a thin zinc-oxide layer, also serves as a reflector of the unabsorbed light. The reflected light gets a second chance to be absorbed by the active layers.

The stack of active layers is glued on a permanent carrier and protected on both the top and bottom side by polymer encapsulants to ensure a lifetime of at least 20 years.

Durability

The product is designed to withstand all sorts of extreme weather conditions and safety issues that a module will encounter during its lifetime. Accelerated lifetime testing is a crucial part of the testing sequence of the modules and has been a key focus point in the continuing development of the technology. Selection and further development of a variety of encapsulation systems that can guarantee a lifetime of 20 years is done in close collaboration with different material suppliers, while protecting our own know-how and IP.

The thin film silicon active layers in combination with the very chemical resistant transparent conductive oxide SnO2:F on top, makes the module durable as these layers are not moisture sensitive. If polymeric materials are used it is impossible (or very expensive) to keep moisture out.